Proteomics for criminology
Biologists have learned to calculate criminals by the proteins in their hair
Biologists from the United States have learned to almost accurately determine a person's identity not only by DNA, but also by proteins contained in his hair, which will increase the accuracy of criminological examination and help identify people found at archaeological excavations, according to an article published in the journal PLoS One (Parker et al., Demonstration of Protein-Based Human Identification Using the Hair Shaft Proteome).
"Today we are at about the same stage at which DNA analysis was in the early days of its existence. This method will cause a new revolution in criminology, and although we have done a lot to create it, there is still much that we could improve to fully realize its potential," said Brad Hart from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (in a press release Humans may be uniquely identified by the proteins in their hair – VM).
According to Hart and his colleagues, the protein analysis technique they created makes it possible to accurately identify a person not only in the first hours and days after a person's death, but even several centuries after his death – according to scientists, they managed to successfully identify several people who died more than 250 years ago.
This technique works as follows – scientists dissolve hair in special substances that do not destroy the chemical structure of proteins inside them, and analyze the composition of this "soup" for the presence of 185 mutations in the structure of proteins, the combination of which is unique for every person on Earth.
According to scientists, such a set of proteins is redundant – in fact, about a hundred similar protein markers are enough for accurate identification. Now Hart's team is working on simplifying and reducing the cost of this technique so that it can be conveniently applied in practice during criminal investigations and during excavations.
Scientists tested the work of this technique on six dozen Americans of European descent who agreed to donate blood and hair for DNA and protein tests. According to biologists, the identities of each of them were correctly established, which opens the way for the use of proteins in calculating the identities of criminals from very small portions of hair. To do this, scientists conclude, a sample weighing only 1 milligram is enough, which is slightly more than contained in one hair.
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08.09.2016